| Understanding and managing Letter Graded and | | | | 5. CR - Yoga (1 unit) |
| Credit/No Credit grading options can raise your GPA | | | | 6. B - Geology (3 units semester/4 units quarter) |
| and find you more time to focus on your major | | | | Your GPA would be 3.33 |
| courses. | | | | The reason is courses graded as a CR give you the |
| College courses are offered as Letter Grade Only | | | | 3 units, the general education requirement, however, |
| (A,B,C,D,F), Credit/No Credit, or both. This | | | | CR does not get averaged in your GPA. |
| determination is made by the school and its | | | | Any downside? |
| curriculum committee; not by any one individual | | | | If your course is offered Credit/No Credit, you'll need |
| professor. You can check course grade options in | | | | to talk with the professor to find out when you |
| your school catalog or with your school counseling | | | | need to request the Credit/No Credit option. Some |
| department. | | | | professors want to know at the beginning of the |
| Why consider Credit/No Credit? | | | | semester, some will let you get through the first |
| To strengthen your GPA in courses not related to | | | | midterm to see how you're doing in the course, |
| your major. Let's say you are a Business major. To | | | | some let you wait a little longer. In any case, make |
| meet your general education requirements, you | | | | sure you write up a quick note or send an email with |
| consider up for Speech, Anthropology, Art History, | | | | your name, student ID number, and request for |
| Geology, Yoga, or Sociology. To earn a Credit, | | | | Credit/No Credit. Make sure you know what you |
| typically students need (and this varies by class), a | | | | need to achieve to get the Credit, whether that be |
| 70% in the course, which equates to a level of | | | | 70%, 72%, etc. |
| success that earns a C grade. If your schedule | | | | If you're headed to a prestigious school, you'll need |
| looked something like: | | | | to check that they are okay with you coming in with |
| | | | Credits. Typically the answer is yes for general |
| 1. Introduction to Marketing (in your major, take as a | | | | education courses and no for your major courses. |
| letter grade) | | | | Also, if you are finishing up your entire general |
| 2. Art History (not in your major, you take for | | | | education commitment in one school, the second |
| general education; a good but time consuming class) | | | | school accepts your completion and doesn't pay a lot |
| 3. Statistics (typically no Credit/No Credit options with | | | | of attention to each class. |
| mathematics) | | | | A couple more upside thoughts to Credit/No Credit |
| 4. Cultural Anthropology (not in your major, if an | | | | Occasionally, you may end up with a professor who, |
| International Business or marketing emphasis you | | | | for whatever reason, prefers to be elsewhere or has |
| might want this one as Letter Grade, if in Accounting | | | | a reputation as a big ego who gives low grades. My |
| or General Business, consider Credit/No Credit) | | | | son once took a Political Science class from a teacher |
| 5. Yoga (P.E. Classes are typically Credit/No Credit) | | | | who never returned a single assignment; he had no |
| 6. Geology (to meet your Physical Science general Ed, | | | | indication of what his grade was. When this happens, |
| typically a non-lab course) | | | | go for the Credit/No Credit. The last thing you need |
| Let's say your grades in these courses look | | | | is a lower GPA and begin an email grade battle with a |
| something like: | | | | teacher who isn't taking care of business. |
| | | | Maybe life intervenes, you have a good grade in a |
| 1. A - Introduction to Marketing (3 units semester/4 | | | | class, but you fail one test or get sick and miss a |
| units quarter) | | | | week of school; and it's too late to Withdraw. If it's |
| 2. C - Survey of Western Art (3 units semester/4 | | | | not a major class, Credit/No Credit will let you get |
| units quarter) | | | | through without dinging your GPA. If, unfortunately, |
| 3. B - Statistics (3 units semester/4 units quarter) | | | | you get a No Credit? It isn't great, but it does not |
| 4. C - Cultural Anthropology (3 units semester/4 units | | | | change your GPA, however, a D or an F does. You'll |
| quarter) | | | | need to be careful about notifying your professor, |
| 5. CR - Yoga (1 unit) | | | | but No Credit can really help limit the sting of a failing |
| 6. B - Geology (3 units semester/4 units quarter) | | | | grade on a transcript. |
| Your GPA would be 2.8 | | | | Lastly, let's say you have two tough, time consuming |
| If, instead, your grades were: | | | | classes. You want to do your best, need to get a |
| | | | great grade, and there's only so much time in the |
| 1. A - Introduction to Marketing (3 units semester/4 | | | | day. If you have one or two general education |
| units quarter) | | | | courses that accept Credit/No Credit, then plan your |
| 2. CR - Survey of Western Art (3 units semester/4 | | | | time so that in the Credit/No Credit courses you |
| units quarter) | | | | meet 75-80% of the course (Credit with a little |
| 3. B - Statistics (3 units semester/4 units quarter) | | | | breathing room), and spend the balance of your time |
| 4. CR - Cultural Anthropology (3 units semester/4 | | | | on the Letter Grade courses you need to excel in. |
| units quarter) | | | | |